Yanda denies any intent to injure opponents

Right guard takes umbrage at implication of playing dirty

November 04, 2011|By Edward Lee

After the Ravens’ season-opening 28-point throttling of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 11, several Steelers accused the Ravens' offensive line of employing illegal chop blocks with the intent of injuring players.

With the Ravens scheduled to visit Pittsburgh for a Sunday night clash, that kind of rhetoric has been toned down considerably.

But although the accusations didn’t include names, Ravens right guard Marshal Yanda took offense to even the implication of any wrongdoing.

“I was blocking within the rules,” he told ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley, the former Ravens beat writer for The Sun. “They can say whatever they want. I didn’t get fined or a flag for it. I’m not going to go at a guy’s knee to get him hurt. I’ve had a knee injury, and I would never do that to a player. That’s horrible.”

Yanda is very cognizant of the seriousness of knee injuries after missing the final 11 games of the 2008 season with three torn ligaments in his right knee in a contest against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 12.